


The Missing Letter

by SynonymRoll648



Category: Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger
Genre: Character Growth, Cute, Dex is only mentioned but still important, F/M, Fluff, Hugs, Marella and Sophie and Elwin are only mentioned, Pure, There's no kissing or anything like that, Vika and Timkin are only mentioned, apology letters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:48:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29984481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SynonymRoll648/pseuds/SynonymRoll648
Summary: Stina Heks knows she's changed for the better, but the rest of Foxfire doesn't know that yet. Especially the people she's hurt in the past. So she's been writing genuine apology letters to all of the people she used to bully.The problem? The most important letter has gone missing.
Relationships: Stina Heks/Fitz Vacker
Kudos: 3





	The Missing Letter

Stina Heks sighed, ticking down the seconds left on the clock. The prodigy knew that she didn’t have to wait much longer until her Elvin History professor would _finally_ have to shut her mouth. Sometimes she seemed to forget that she was teaching a Level Four, not a Level One. The woman had just switched to teaching both levels - which clearly hadn’t been a good idea. 

The only reason Stina actually paid a decent degree of attention span to Lady Dara’s lectures was because some of it might be useful to know for the future - now that the Neverseen had an Ancient on their side, knowledge of her species’ origins might be handy to have under her belt. And Team Valiant. Or when she helped the Black Swan, which she was planning on. She couldn’t let her dad do crazy missions on his own. 

Soothing chimes reverberated through the academy. Stina swiftly collected her belongings and dashed out of the classroom. She could hear Lady Dara’s voice calling to her from behind, but the young elf didn’t look back. 

Stina had much better things she could do with her time. And she knew that, which is why she confidently shouldered her way through the mob of students forcing their way to lunch. 

But the former bully had more important plans on her mind than to gossip to her “friends” about the latest fashion trend, or love lives that weren’t her business. She was a girl on a mission - several, in fact. 

Her peers could clearly sense that from her body language, and made way for her. Stina fought back a smirk. That’s what the old Stina would’ve done, and she was a new Stina now. A Stina that stood up for what was right, kept her priorities straight, and earned respect by being herself - not a bully. 

Back then, Stina was mean to everyone because she thought that it was the only way to prevent people from stomping her down. Her dad, Timkin, was Talentless. And having one Talentless parent and an Empath for another theoretically made a bad match. Vika and Timkin had never been labeled as a bad match, but that was only because her mom had a friend in the Matchmaking industry. 

Her twelve year old self’s warped line of thinking was: _If you don’t make the first move, they will. And then your life will be a living hell._ And with that, she had somehow convinced herself that it was okay to be mean to others. 

Stina’s insides twisted at her foolishness. Bullying was never okay, no matter the circumstances. And what made it worse was how she had treated Dex. They practically had the same family situation, except his was worse. She should’ve stuck up for him, not crushed the poor ginger with her words. 

The slim brunette squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head wildly, approaching her locker. What was in the past was in the past. But it was a good reminder to work on the apology letter she’d been working on. A satisfied smile softened her features. 

It felt good, fixing all the wrongs she had done in the past. 

Sweet vanilla met her taste-buds as she flicked her tongue against the sterling DNA strip to her locker. The pristine emerald door unlocked with a click, slowly swinging ajar so there was a sliver of a crack just large enough for a students’ fingers.

Stina eased her locker open, and a mirror image greeted her. Literally. A small mirror was mounted onto the back wall of her small storage space for her stuff, reflecting her face. She gave it a little glance, lifting her chin to expose her neck. Her fingers reached up to touch the comfortable lilac band with her registry pendant pinned on top of her adam’s apple.

She smiled, relieved that she hadn’t forgotten to put it on today. The choker wasn’t just any plain old choker to her - it was a gift from her parents. One that she _earned_. Happy tears formed a glossy layer over her indigo eyes, remembering the proud grins on her parents faces when they gave it to her. How they’d celebrated with mallowmelt that she was chosen for Team Valiant. The whoops and hollers that had echoed around Sterling Gables. 

Stina blinked away the memory. It was not the time to be reminiscing over events that had happened months ago, no matter how cheerful it made her. Now was the time to get things _done_. No procrastinating. 

She reached a gangly arm into her locker and pulled out a few textbooks, plus a small pre-packed lunch for herself. Food from outside the school’s kitchen wasn’t allowed, but Stina was perfectly fine with bending the rules to prevent getting stuck in conversations that ultimately wasted her time. There wasn’t much in the fabric cube, just some non-refrigerated items that could sit in room temperature for long periods of time. Of course, she picked ones that weren’t disgusting. Who wanted disgusting food for lunch?

Not Stina. 

The tall girl was about to back away, but then she remembered something. The letters to people she’d bullied in the past! Those were _definitely_ important. She’d apologized to Sophie and Marella in person, so they were the only ones she didn’t have letters for. 

By now, the corridor was completely deserted. _It doesn’t matter if I make a bit of a mess_ , she told herself. _No one’s around_. Stina pushed the door to her locker to the side, making a quiet _clank_. With nimble fingers, she rifled through the contents of her various magnetic organizers. 

Finally, she found the file folder sandwiched between two of her textbooks. Stina breathed out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness it was there. Just in case, she flipped through the letters to make sure she knew they were all there. 

The first one she saw wasn’t Dex’s letter - the one she was working on - which she thought was strange. But then she shrugged it off. She’d find it somewhere. 

One by one, she skimmed over each of the unfortunately _many_ letters in the folder, keeping a mental tally. Dread squirmed in her stomach everytime she didn’t see Dex’s name. When the turned to the last page, and didn’t see the Technopath’s name, her face was chalk-white. 

The letter to Dex was literally _the most important letter_ in the entire collection. The one that she had spent hours fretting over, erasing and rewriting and erasing all over again because it didn’t convey the right message. The one that _still wasn’t done_ yet because she wanted it to be as good as she could get it. But she could feel that it was so close to being perfect. 

And it was gone. 

“Just _great!”_ Stina stomped her foot like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum, tearing a hand through her frizzy chocolate curls. “Of _all the things I could’ve lost_ …” she growled. Self directed anger clawed at her insides. 

Then anxiety froze her stone cold. It could be anywhere. _Anywhere_ at all. And that meant that _anyone_ could read it. What if they interpreted it wrong? What if some stranger started spreading false rumors? She didn’t need - much less want - to upset Dex. 

She shut her peridot locker and slumped against the cool metal. Closing her eyes, she began a breathing exercise that Elwin had taught her when she was a Level One. 

_In for four…_ Stina mentally echoed what the quirky doctor had whispered to her that stressful day before finals. 

_Hold for seven..._ The Empath counted off the seconds on her fingers. 

_Out for eight_. As she purposefully drained her lungs of air, the Regent ignored what she thought was the soft padding of distant footsteps, accompanied by a crisp voice. She continued repeating the exercise. 

After a stretch of time that Stina didn’t bother to count, she felt someone tap her upper arm. Her brows drew together. Who would be out in the halls right now, instead of eating lunch? 

Partially convinced that it was just her mind playing tricks on her, Stina opened her eyes.

But it turned out that she really _had_ felt someone tap her shoulder. Why else would Wonderboy be standing in front of her with that concerned look in his ocean eyes?

She flinched instinctively. _What am I supposed to say?_ She thought frantically. _Hi, sorry you caught me panicking over an apology letter. How can I help you?_

She immediately smoothed over her demeanor so none of her internal panic showed on the outside. Stina had lots of practice masking her lifelong anxiety. There were only three people who knew how much she stressed on a daily basis, and she wanted to keep it that way. And she had, for years on end. 

_Think suave, act suave._ She chanted her mantra for the umpteenth time. “Hey there, Wonderboy. Did you need something, or were you just wandering the halls for no particular reason?” 

The older boy saw through her act like a clear window pane. “Are you okay?” 

Stina wasn’t going to drop her guard straightaway. “Perfectly fine,” she lied, rolling her eyes. Eye rolls seemed to fool everyone. 

He gave her a doubtful look. “I don’t really believe you,” Fitz persisted. “I’ve seen that breathing technique before. My mom uses it when she’s stressed.” 

Stina heaved a sigh. It was clear that Pretty Boy wasn’t going to stop bugging her about it until she admitted it - just like Elwin did. “Okay, so maybe I’m not at my most relaxed state of mind. But it’s none of your busi-” She cut herself off, staring skyward. _New Stina,_ she reminded herself. _New Stina doesn’t scare people off. That’s the old Stina. Don’t be the old Stina._ “Nothing for you to worry about,” she amended. 

They stared each other down for a few seconds. Stina was determined to win - no way was she going to swoon or something stupid like the rest of the girls in Foxfire. 

She didn’t realize that she’d snorted at her peers’ antics until Fitz said; “What’s so funny?” 

Stina laughed. He really didn’t get it. _Guess Sophie’s wearing off on him_ , she mused. Fighting back a grin, she said, “Nothing. Really.” And it was true. It really was nothing. “Anyways, you wanted to talk to me, I assume?” 

Fitz shook his head, a hint of a smile peeking out. “I’ll let you off the hook - your business is your business. The reason why I was looking for you was to return this to you.” He held up a sheet of lined paper, ravaged with numerous eraser wrinkles. 

Stina blinked. It couldn’t be! It was the letter to Dex. A grin broke out on her face. “Thank you so much,” she gushed. Relief washed away her defenses. 

The grinning Telepath extended the paper out to her, and she accepted it gratefully. Normally, she would be horrified at the prospect of so openly reacting to something in such a cliche-schoolgirl kind of way. But right now? She had a good reason. That was why she didn’t care that Fitz was definitely watching her every move as she hugged the worn letter to her chest, swaying back and forth with her eyes blissfully closed. 

“Um, Stina?” 

Opening her eyes, she looked at the slightly sheepish looking Vacker. “Yeah?” 

His gaze dropped down to the floor, and then bounced back up to meet hers. “I… I did read it.” Fitz admitted. 

She froze. 

_Fitz read the letter?_

“But don’t worry - I didn’t start gossiping about it or anything.” he rushed to add. “And… and I wanted to say that it was really touching. It-it made me almost cry.” Fitz chuckled, and it reminded her of a weak ray of sunshine warming her skin in early spring. “Dex would love it. He really would.” 

The corners of her mouth quirked upwards. “Really? Even though I haven’t finished it?”

“Well, he would love if it were finished, but absolutely.” He smiled. Suddenly, a sparkle dawned in his eyes. “Besides an ending, you know what would make it even better?” 

That snagged her attention. “What?” She understood that Fitz knew Dex far better than she did. 

“A hug.” He said simply. “A genuine hug - not awkward, not mushy, not stiff. A genuinely friendly and comfortable hug.” 

Stina’s smile was replaced by a bewildered expression. It made sense that Dex liked hugs, but… “I don’t do hugs. Like, ever. Except with my parents - and Elwin, but that’s unavoidable.” 

He laughed once again. Then he cleared his throat, and bent his knees so he was at a slightly lower height than she was. “Beware the hugs of Elwin! They’ll infect you with happiness. Ooooooh, spooooky,” Fitz had deepened his voice to match a cartoony ghosts’, with a hint of sing-song. 

Stina burst out laughing so hard she doubled over, as did he. 

When they were able to stand and properly speak, he said, “Getting back on track, he really would like a hug. I’m serious.” 

“I’m out of practice when it comes to hugging people.” 

Fitz snorted. “Well… we can practice!” He held his arms open wide invitingly. 

Stina eyed him suspiciously. “You’re asking me to practice _hugging_ with you,” She clarified. 

“Yes,” he confirmed. When she still looked dubious, he added, “Practice makes perfect - er, better. And it won’t mean anything.”

Stina shook her head self-pityingly. She was actually doing this. With a sigh, she stepped forward and looped her arms around his torso and pressed her cheek to his shoulder. Strong, secure arms wrapped around her snugly. 

She gave a quick squeeze, and then stepped away before the ridiculously strong scent of his cologne intoxicated her. _And the feeling of being openly cared about._ Stina shut down the thought immediately. 

Fitz’s crisp accent brought her back to reality. “You’re such a liar, saying that you’re bad at giving out hugs.” 

Stina felt her cheeks redden. “I’m not a cuddly kind of elf, okay? Not everyone has to be an old sap.” She snapped. _No compliments! I’m not a giggly schoolgirl! Don’t make me one._ The last thought came out as a growl inside her head. 

He held out his hands in a _I surrender_ kind of way. Had he read her mind? She doubted it. Fitz had some respect for the rules of Telepathy - unlike a certain blonde she knew. “I’m not the enemy,” he backed up a step. “I was just saying the truth,” 

Stina sighed - she was getting too aggressive. “Sorry,” she apologized. “It’s just… not familiar territory for me.” 

Tilting his head to the side, he gave her a sympathetic look. “It’s okay, I know how it feels.” He slipped his imparter out of his cape pocket and checked the time. “I wish I could hang around a little longer, but lunch is almost over and my next class is kind of far away. I usually leave to get a head start by now,” he explained. 

“That’s fine. I get it,” she replied, ignoring the tiny little drop in her mood. _It’s just because I’m used to being alone so often_ , Stina assured herself. _Everybody gets lonely sometimes_. “Thanks for returning the letter to me. And the advice. I really appreciate it.” 

He offered his signature swoon-worthy smile - not that it disarmed her like it did for everyone else. “Glad I could help,” he said. Fitz spun around and walked off, just like that. 

How much time did she have to actually eat her lunch? She fished for her imparter in one of her pockets, and tapped the blank screen. 

The screen flared to life, and the time read _12:23_. 

Stina cursed. She only had seven minutes until lunch was over. She hastily picked up her tiny lunch from the floor and unzipped the lid. Going to PE on an empty stomach wasn’t a good idea. 

As she scarfed down her bag of dried purple fruit, she scrambled to neatly put away the almost-finished letter with the rest of them. Only then did she allow herself to actually get her stuff together. 

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if there's anything I should add in the tags. Kudos and comments are appreciated, and so is constructive criticism! <3 Enjoy the rest of your day/night!


End file.
